SCREENSHOT VIA X
A video that went viral this weekend shows a 15-year-old beating another teen near Hazelwood East High School.
A 15-year-old is in custody and local and state leaders have responded with outrage after a video from Friday went viral showing one teen beat another’s head into pavement on a residential street near Hazelwood East High School as a group of young people watch.
As of yesterday, the victim was in critical condition at a local hospital, being treated for a severe head injury. Reports that she had succumbed to her injuries were widespread on special media, but unfounded.
The assault took place 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8, at Norgate and Claudine drives in Spanish Lake. That’s near near Hazelwood East High School, but not on school property, as was originally reported.
The St. Louis County Police Department said in a statement that the 15-year-old was taken into custody on Saturday on assault charges and further investigation is ongoing.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell called the incident “sickening and so difficult to watch.”
“Just heartbreaking,” he wrote on Twitter, but added that the matter is in the hands of the county juvenile courts and does not fall under his office’s jurisdiction unless the 15-year-old is certified as an adult.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote on Twitter he thinks that certification is exactly what should happen.
“This evil and complete disregard for human life has no place in Missouri, or anywhere. I am praying for the victim,” Bailey wrote. “The criminal should be charged and tried as an adult. If the victim dies, that offense should rise to a homicide.”
Bailey’s opponent, Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe called the assault “insanity.”
The lieutenant governor’s tweet was linked to a retweet from the account Libs of TikTok, a conservative account that loves to troll liberals and has a massive following. “GRAPHIC: A student in @HazelwoodSD is in the hospital in critical condition after being brutally beaten with her head smashed against the pavement by a mob of students,” the account tweeted. “Multiple people watch and do nothing. You won’t hear about this story on the MSM.” Libs of TikTok appears to have gotten the video from the conservative Canadian news site the Post Millennial, which has tweeted repeatedly about the incident.
We’ve embedded their tweet below. Warning: It is extremely graphic and shows intense violence.
The video opens with the two teenage girls appearing to square off against each other in a residential street. Quickly, though, the 15-year-old is on top of the young woman currently in the hospital, hands around her collar and repeatedly smashing her head into the street.
The teen twitches and convulses on the street as several other peripheral brawls break out among the dozen or so young people around her.
🚨 WARNING GRAPHIC 🚨
White female student in critical condition after suffering significant traumatic brain injury during a fight with a black female student at Hazelwood East High School in Missouri. pic.twitter.com/fwKR5HIP1p
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 10, 2024
Despite the claim by Libs of TikTok, the attack has been covered widely in the St. Louis press, with reports by the Post-Dispatch, KSDK, KMOV and more.
The statement put out by the Hazelwood School District in response to the incident was relatively dispassionate compared to the reaction of elected leaders and the general public.
It said in full: “It is a tragedy anytime children are hurt. Bullying and fighting in the community is an issue for which we all need to take ownership and work towards a resolution for the sake of our children. The Hazelwood School District offers our sincerest condolences to everyone involved, and will offer additional emotional support from our support and crisis team to those in need. We look forward to continuing to partner with our community for the sake of our children. Please be kind and respectful of the families involved during this difficult time and pledge to help work toward the betterment of our entire community.”
Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Comments are closed.